Railway tie



Jan. 1 9

j. KERWIN.

RAILWAY TIE.

FILED DEC. 9. 1921.

Fatented Jan. l6, 1923.-

Ema o JOHN KERWIN,. OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO PHILLIP KER'WIN, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

RAILWAY TIE.

Application filed December 9, 1921.

To all UZZOWL it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN Knnwln, citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Railway Ties, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in railway rail supports and is comprised in a metal railway tie of improved design.

Any tie, to give satisfactory results, must have (a) suflicient strength so as not to bend or break under the loads placed upon it, and (Z2) sutficient surface area, or bearing, upon the base, to properly distribute the load over the entire base.

My improved type of tie is of such a character as to provide a bearing surface on the track foundation equal at least to that of the standard oak tie. The tie comprises a hori zontal bearing plate adapted to rest on the track foundation and a longitudinally extending vertical supporting plate projecting above the bearing" plate, which vertical plate carries the load in that the rails may be said to be suspended therefrom. The tie is so constructed as to have a greater bending strength than the standard oak tie and as great as the standard Lbeam steel tie.

An object of my invention is to provide a metal tie having a bearing surface of such size as to distribute the load over the track foundation and having an upright flange in termediate the rails to which the rails are rigidly secured in such a manner as to be practically suspended therefrom.

Another object is to provide a metal tie comprising a bearing plate extending under neath the rails and having a bearing surface suflicient to distribute the load over the track foundation provided with an upwardly pro jecting rail supporting section extending intermediate the rails and secured thereto so the rails will besupported thereby, and a lower flange projecting downwardly and embedded in the concrete foundation. The upright section projects above the bearing plate a distance equal to or greater than its extension below. By thus elevating the tie struoture to a-position substantially between the Serial No. 521,219.

rails and eliminating a substantial amount of the vertical section below the bearing plate a saving is effected in depth of excavation and amount of concrete necessary for the track foundation of thirty per cent or more, while the entire track structure remains equal in strength to the heavier type of construction.

In railway construction in whica standard white oak ties are used the rails are laid on the ties which ties are usually six inches or more in depth. A common construction for street railway work would be eight inches of concrete underneath the six-inch ties and seven-inch rails, with a one-inch bed of sand laid on the concrete beneath the ties. Concrete would then be filled in between and around the ties to within four and one-half inches of the surface of the pavement. This remaining four and one-half inches might be completed with brick, or concrete could be used. The above construction is a common one in street railway practice and would give twenty-two inches from the surface of the pavement between the rails tothe bottom of the concrete base below the ties.

ith my improved tie my bearing plate of less than one-half inch in thickness cm tends underneath the rails and rests on the same thickness of concrete as above described and would therefore necessitate an excavation and foundation depth below the rails of somewhat over eight inches in comparison with the oak tie depth of fifteen inches. .l have provided the same strength in base or fornidation and the strength of the tie is made up in the upright section which extends between the rails and from which the rails are suspended.

By reducing; the depth of the lower vertical flange to less than that of the upper flange I avoid cutting into and breaking the solid structure of the concrete foundation below the rails. This lower flange in av be considerably reduced to one-half or even onethird in height of the upper flange. Ry extending the vertical section almost to the surface of the pavement I provide a convenient means of cutting the surface pavement into blocks where concrete pavement is used, which blocks can be readily removed and replaced in making track repairs. The tie is so constructed as to permit bolting and welding of the-ends of the upwardly extending vertical section to the rails so as to provide a rigid compact track structure and gives to the tie a suspension bridge effect by which the rails are carried and also prcvents the rails from shifting to wide or narrow gauge.

These and other objects together with de tails of construction will more fully appear from the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings; in which:

Figure 1' is a transverse crosssection through a railway track showing the rails supported by my improved tie.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing the rail in cross-section and a broken away portion of the tie in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line 3-'3 of Fig. 2 showing the rail in elevation and the tie in section.

In the drawings. let 10 indicate a standard railway rail, the base flange of which is inclicated as 11 and the web as 19. The rails are supported upon a series of cross ties which have a bearing upon a prepared foundation 14. In street railway construction work this foundation is usually formed of concrete.

My improved tie comprises a vertically disposed metal supporting plate 15 upon opposite sides of which are rigidly secured angle'iron sections 16 an d 17. These sections 16 and 17 are so fastened to the vertical plate as to form a substantially integral structurebeing secured thereto by in ans of rivets 18 passing through the sections and the plate. These horizontally disposed flanges 16 and 17 form a base plateadapted to bear on the track foundation which base plate extends underneath the railway rails as shown in Fig. 1, and the combined area of these base flanges would be such as to sufficiently distribute the load of the rails over the foundation.

The plate 15 is cut away at the ends seas to be received between the rails. It projects upwardly from the horizontal base to approximately the height of the web 12 within a short distance of the surface of the pavement between the rails. Means are provided at opposite ends for securing the rails rigidly to this upright section so that the load of the rails will be carried thereby and stresses tending to break or bend the tie will be resisted by the vertical section rather than by the horizontal base plate which extends underneath the rails.

I have provided corner pieces 19 which are perforated to be fastened by means of boltsQO to the rails on one side and to the upright plate 15 on the other so that the rails may suspend from the plate. The entire track structure may be spot-welded at the joints to make a morenearly integral structure, if so desired.

It is obvious'that the tie may be formed in one piece, rather than-separate sections so"- cured together as here shown. However the construction exhibited is thought to possess superiority over the one piece tie and is less expensive.

hat I claim is:

1. In a support for a pair of railway rails, a railway tie comprising a rigid vertically disposed metal plate extending between the rails and secured at opposite ends; to the web portion of said rails at a point above the base of the rails, so that the rails will be suspended therefrom, said plate provided with a laterally-directed portion adapted to bear on the track foundation.

2. In a support for a pair of railway rails, the combination in a railway tie of a vertically disposed metal plate which extends between the rails and is secured rigidly to the web portions thereof so the rails are suspended therefrom and the intermediate section of which plate projects above the base of the rails to substantially the head thereof which plate is provided with a laterally-directed portion adapted to bear on the track foundation.

In a support for a pair of railway rails, the combination in a railway tie of a vertically disposed member embedded in the track foundation below the base of the rails and projecting upwardly between the rails a greater distance than its projection below the rails and secured rigidly to said rails at a point above the base thereof so the rails will be'suspended therefrom, means extend- .ing laterally from said member adapted to bear on the track foundation below the rails.

at. In a support for a pair of railway rails, a track foundation, a railway tie comprising a base plate extending underneath the rails and resting on the track foundation having downwardly extending portions adapted to be embedded in said foundation, said base plate provided with an upwardly projecting longitudinally extending flange positioned intermediate the rails and rigidly secured thereto at a point above the base thereof so the load of the rails will be carried thereby and extending upwardly at least half the height of the rails.

5. In a railway tie, in combination, a ver tically disposed metal plate extending between the rails and projecting upwardly substantially to the height of the web of the rails, said plate secured rigidly at'opposite ends to the rails at a point above the base of the web portion of the'rail, said plate provided with a laterally directed portion adapted to rest on, the track foundation.

6." In a railway tie', in combination, an upright metal plate extending between the rails and projecting above and below the base thereof, said upwardly projecting portion ofwhich is secured rigidly to the rails at a point above the base thereof so that the rails are suspended therefrom; a" laterally directed base member carried by said plate.

7. In a railway tie, a vertically disposed metal plate adapted to extend between a pair of rails and provided with means for being secured rigidly thereto at opposite ends and having a base plate extending laterally therefrom at a point not higher than the longitudinal midsection thereof.

8. The combination in a railway tie of a base plate having longitudinally extending flanges projecting above and below the horizontal plane thereof, said upper flange extending between the rails and secured rigidly thereto and projecting upwardly to substantially the height of the web of the rails a distance equal to at least the depth of the projection of the lower flange below the rails.

9. In a support for railway rails, the combination in a railway tie of a horizontal base plate adapted to extend underneath the rails and rest on the track foundation provided with longitudinally extending flanges projecting above and below the plate, said upper flange extending between the rails and secured thereto and being of a substantially greater depth than the lower flange.

10. The combination in metallic railway ties of a vertical plate upon opposite sides of which are rigidly secured laterally projecting angle iron sections extending longitudinally thereof intermediate the longitudinal median line of the plate and the lower edge thereof.

11. In a metallic railway tie, a vertical plate and longitudinally extending angle iron sections rigidly secured to opposite sides thereof so as to project laterally therefrom at a point not higher than the longitudinal mid-section of the plate.

12. In a metallic railway tie, a vertical plate, longitudinally extending angle .iron sections rigidly secured to opposite sides thereof so as to project laterally therefrom and provided with means for being secured rigidly thereto.

13. In a metallic railway tie, in combination, a vertical supporting plate, longitudinally extending bearing plates in the form of an angle iron sections rigidly secured to opposite sides of the vertical plate and projecting laterally therefrom, said vertical plate cut away above said bearing plates at the ends so as to provide an upwardly projecting flange adapted to be received between the rails and provided with means for being secured rigidly thereto.

14. In a support for a pair of railway rails, a railway tie comprising an upright metal plate extending between the rails and secured to the web portions thereof and projecting upwardly to substantially the head of the rails thereby substantially dividing the pavement intermediate the rails into easily detachable blocks, and which plate is provided with a laterally directed portion adapted to rest on the track foundation beneath the rails.

15. In a support for a pair of railway rails, a railway tie comprising a rigid substantially upright metal plate extending between the rails and secured at opposite ends to said rails so that the rails are suspended therefrom, which plate projects upwardly throughout its length to the rails at least half the height of the rail and which plate is provided with opposed laterally directed portions projecting from each side thereof below the rails.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification.

JOHN KERWIN. 

